Car-brake



(No Model.)

E. W. LAUFMAN.

GAR BRAKE.

No. 306,407. Patented Oct. 14, 1884.

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N. PETERS. Phexeumegmpmr. wmmngn. D. C,

' swivel-nut.

l well-known manner, by rods and levers, to a straten diaries liarntrr Ormes..

EDMOND VINFREY LA UFMAN, OF MERRTAM JUNCTION, MINNESOTA.

CARHRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 306,4-7, dated October le, 1884.

Application filed April l, 1884. (No model.)

`To @ZZ whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDMOND Winrnnv LAUFMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Merriam Junction, in the county ol` Scott, in the State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Car Brakes, of which the following speciiication is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being also had tothe aci companying drawings, in whichn Figure l is a semi-sectional elevation ot' a freight-car, showing my improved brake attached thereto. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detached perspective view ot' the brake-rod and t-he brake-wheels, showing the manner oi" constructing them when the brake is used upon platform-ears. Figs. 8, at, and 5 are enlarged perspective views ol" the compound levers an d Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are enlarged detail views of a portion ot the lower end oi" the brake-rod, showing the manner of connecting the apparatus to ordinary broken rods.

A is a portion of a car-body; B, one of the trucks, and B the track.

a a are the brake-shoes, eonnected,'in any draw rod or rods, b, by which the brake is operated.

C is the brake-rod, suspended by hangers d d2 vto the end of the car-body A, and provided upon its upper end with a hand-wheel, D', above the ear-body, and also with a second 'handavheeh lli, below the ear-body, so that the brake maybe set or released from the top ot' the ear in the ordinary manner or from the ground below.

.FJ is a bell-crank or right-angled lever, pivoted at its elbow e to the under side of the carbod y, and connected by one end to one end of the draw-rod b, and pivoted by the other end to one end of a lever, E. This lever lig is pivoted at et to the underside of the car-body A, and is provided with a fork-shaped end formed by a bend in the main lever at g, and bolt-ing or otherwise securing to the inain lever a smaller bent strap, g2. lu this forked end is pivoted, by trunnions 7L h?, a nut, G, adapted to receive a screw-thread upon the lower end ot' the brake-rod just above the lower hand-wheel, D2. The holes in the fork hrough which the trunnions h h2 pass are slotted, so that the nut is free to move back and forth in the fork, so that no cramping occurs. The joint between the levers E and E2 is also slotted, to allow free play to their movements. By this arrangeinent the turning of the brakerod C to the right or left will run the nut G- up or down and carry with it the levers E and E2, and draw the brake-slices against the wheels or release them therefrom. Thus the power of the screw on the brake-rod is utilized to operate the brakes7 and by the arrangements of the levers and the swivel-nut the brak e-shoes will be held rnil y in the place where they are left by the hand-wheels without the use of ra-tehets or pawls or other holding devices.

The use of the extra hand-wheel D2 on the lower end ot'` the brake-rod is a very important part of my invention, as it enables the brakem en to set or release the brakes from the ground, and without the necessity of elimbing upon top of the cars to release ratchets and pawls, as in the ordinary brakes. It very frequently happens that this ability to manip ulate the brakes from below is of great importance, especially in switching at waystations and in track-yards.

ln Fig. 2 are shown the arrangements neeessary to be used when the brake is applied to flat or platform cars where the brake-rods are to be removed whenthe cars are loaded, consisting iu forming the rod C short enough so as not to project above the surface of the platform or iloor ofthe car, and providing its upper end with a socket, t, into which the lower square end, 2, olj' a rod, O, having the hand-wheel D upon its upper end, fits.. By this means the rod C may be removed when required without interfering with the remain der of the brake apparatus. The presence of the second wheel, DL', is an especially advantageous feature when this brake is applied to i flat ears, as every car is provided with an operative brake, even if the material with which the ears are loaded project over the ends of the cars so as to prevent the use of the rods C'.

In Figs. 7, and 8 is shown the ina-nner ot' applying my brake system to cars already provided with brakes of the ordinary pattern. This consists in attaching to the lower end of the outside of rod C a section ot' gas-pipe, Il,

ICO

2 y l aofi-iovV having a screw-thread cut upon its exterior to it the nut G. By this means no necessity eX- ists of cutting a screw-thread upon the brakerod* itself. A collar, m, will be attached tov the brake-rod at the upper end of the screwthread, against which the nut G strikes to prevent its being run too high and thus set the brakes too tightly. The screw-power is so great that if some stop, such as the nuts m, were not used, great danger would exist of either sliding7 the car-wheels or breaking the rods, &c.v

To still further prevent the danger of breakage, I arrange the rod b in two parts, and provide each part with hooked ends, and insert these hooked ends from opposite ends of a coiled spring, b, so that when the brake is set the spring will be compressed and the power passed through the spring b2 to the shoes instead of directly to l[he shoes. the brake-rod C may be revolved to a greater extent without danger of sliding the wheels or breaking the rods or levers than if no springs were used.

By thismeans below or near the lower line ot the body of the car, pivoted lever El, having swivel-nut G, and pivoted bellcrank lever E', connecting said lever Ez and the brake-shoes of the car, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a railroad-car brake7 the combination of the brake-rod having ascrew-thread thereon, a hand-wheel, D', attached to said brakerod above the line of the car, a hand-wheel, D2; attached to said brake-rod below or near the lower line of the car, a nut, G, adapted to fit the screw-thread upon said rod, and means for connecting said nut with the levers and rods for operating the brakes, substantially as described.

3. In a railroad-.car brake, a brake-rod, C, provided with a screw-thread, and adapted to be revolved, a nut, G, levers E E2, brakeshoes a a2, and draw-rod b, connecting said levers with said shoes, and provided with spring b2, substantially as and for the purpose spccied. y

In testimony whereof I havehereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDMOND VINFREY LAUFMAN.

Witnesses:

C. N. WooDwARn, LoUIs FnEsnR, Sr. 

